


we're but a few dying flowers

by kiroiimye



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Falling In Love, Fantasy themes, Gen, Haikyuu!! Fantasy Exchange 2019, Hinata Shouyou & Kozume Kenma Friendship, Hinata Shouyou is Sunshine, M/M, POV Kozume Kenma, Soft Boys, fae suga, implied kenhina towards the end, kenma and suga friendship, like very very implied, necromancer kenma, slight romance, vampire hinata
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-22 17:27:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21305807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiroiimye/pseuds/kiroiimye
Summary: “Stay back, vampire,” Kenma grits his teeth and pushes away all thoughts of the beauty of the vampire. Vampires were naturally meant to be beautiful, to entice their prey before pouncing on their neck and there’s no way in the Seven Kingdoms Kenma’s going to let a vampire jump him.Especially a ridiculously beautiful one in the middle of the woods.Where Kenma is a lone necromancer traveling the Seven Kingdoms and he has a (somewhat) chance meeting with a vampire who's too sunny and bright to really be a vampire.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kozume Kenma
Comments: 10
Kudos: 172





	we're but a few dying flowers

He presses his palms against the damp wall, quivering as the hordes run past, pitchforks and torches aflame.  _ Not again, not again,  _ he chants inwardly, but he knows the thought itself is futile; he’s been running away since his powers were first revealed at the orphanage almost five years ago. 

Necromancy has never been a beloved magic amongst the kingdom and it was only Kenma’s purely terrible luck that it ended up being his. 

He doesn't have anything against necromancy, save for the fact it’s made him run from village to village with his tail between his legs; he finds the craft quite interesting actually. But the idea of the dead’s raising is unappealing to most, hence its unpopularity between the Seven Kingdoms. 

Magic has always been amongst the Seven Kingdoms, ever since he was born. He had heard some old knowledge floating around, that the land once was not riddled with sorcery and everyone was born normal (it would’ve been luckier if he had been born powerless; necromancy was a truly feared magic), but those who were touched by the hail of magic were outcasted, freaks really. 

_ Not anymore, _ Kenma thinks wryly, peering around the wall. It’s the complete opposite of that strange history now; necromancy is at the bottom of the barrel and the magicless is only a step up from the pit. 

The air is silent, the breeze even stilled and the horde is long gone, leaving behind trails of footsteps and bitter ash on the cobblestones. The light from the torches had long faded into the distance, and he takes that opportunity to run. 

His bare feet stamp across the street, soundless in the night, and he makes it out of the town as the moon rises and the stars peer behind sullen clouds. Kenma doesn’t look behind him, for fear of seeing the pitchforks and hounds on his tail, only licking his lips and pressing farther away from civilization.  _ The bigger the distance, the better,  _ he thinks grimly as he begins to trespass into the wilderness.

The ground beneath him grew rockier, the bushes thornier, and Kenma finally slows his pace to chance a look behind him. No sign of fierce mobs or screaming terriers. 

Now. The real problem: shelter and food. He takes in the darkened forest ahead and the brush behind him; no noise emits from either side, save for the singing crickets tucked into the wild pockets.

With a sigh and a quick glance behind him, Kenma begins the long trek through the forest. His bare feet wobble on the rocky path and he grits his teeth, desperately trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his skin (he’s done this so many times before; it’s annoying how his feet haven’t numbed to any signs of pain).

He doesn’t know how long he traipses through the woods for; the night remains all the same in a dress of night blue and sheath of silver stars. The crickets continue to sing, even as the breeze begins to pick up. The wind begins to weave in and out of the leaves and branches, whistling as it does, and Kenma feels his shoulders start to quiver.

_ I can’t be out here anymore,  _ he thinks desperately.  _ I have to find shelter. _

Picking up the pace, he moves faster in the woods. Or at least, he tries; it’s too dark to see what’s in front of his face and he slips and stumbles on loose rocks and tree stumps, smacked in the face by low hanging branches. 

When he finally stops to take a break, his legs and arms are slashed with cuts and he’s entirely sure his face looks the same. His breath is heaving and his body aches with hunger, thirst, and exhaustion. 

_ Maybe...maybe I can just sleep here. Just for now,  _ he thinks, before his eyes droop closed.

Kenma’s not entirely sure how long he sleeps for, but he’s awakened by a branch snapping and the crunch of leaves, and he’s suddenly on high alert, body tensing and magic sparking at his fingertips. 

His senses are acute; from the corner of his mind, he can tell the wind had stopped blowing and the crickets had stopped chirping. How long, he’s unsure, but the deadened silence of the forest is worrying and it only makes him all the more wary.

He doesn’t move an inch, only scattering his eyes around him, searching for the intruder. There’s another  _ crunch  _ and he twists to the left, catching movement behind a tree. 

Inhaling sharply, Kenma squares himself for a fight and calls, “Come out. I can see you.”

A silence hangs in the air and the forest is still, before there’s an audible groan from the intruder. 

“Aww you caught me!” A young man steps out from behind a tree, and Kenma is stunned by how young and  _ warm  _ he is.

The young man is a little whiles away from him, but he seems to simply radiate warmth, his dark eyes sparkling with childish humor and delight, smile large and stretching from ear to ear. The most shocking thing about him is his hair, a vibrant orange in the darkness in the forest, and it’s illuminated by the lantern he carries at his side. 

“Don’t come any closer,” Kenma says, but he hears his voice waver and  _ all gods above,  _ why does that young man have such an effect on him?

Nevertheless, he stops in his tracks, hands raised in surrender. “You don’t have to be afraid,” he says. “I’m not gonna hurt ya.”

Kenma bites the inside of his lip, but doesn’t relax his position. “That’s what they all say before they attack.”

The other shrugs, his small shoulders lifting and it’s then Kenma realizes how delicate and small the intruder is. And then he takes account of the dark clothes, pale skin, and the pearly white smile, glistening in the dark and...there. The small, white fangs, tucked in each corner of his mouth.

“Stay back,  _ vampire,”  _ Kenma grits his teeth and pushes away all thoughts of the beauty of the vampire. Vampires were naturally meant to be beautiful, to entice their prey before pouncing on their neck and there’s no way in the Seven Kingdoms Kenma’s going to let a vampire jump him.

Especially a ridiculously beautiful one in the middle of the woods.

The intruder sighs, but doesn’t deny his nature, only lowering his eyes to look Kenma in the face. “I’m not gonna hurt you. Trust me,” he pleads. 

Kenma’s lips twist and he spares a glance behind him, then back at the vampire, before kneeling to press his hands into the ground. It rumbles at his touch, before skeletons rise from the ground, and Kenma breaks into a run, not daring to look behind him.

He curses violently at every branch snapping in his way, but he doesn’t stop running, in fear of the vampire catching him.

But his efforts to get away are to no avail, and Kenma’s stopped dead in his tracks when the vampire leaps in front of him, hands spread out to stop him.

“Geez, can’t you just hear me out? I’m trying to help you!” the vampire whines almost petulantly and finishes with a pout (and holy gods, it’s the most adorable thing Kenma’s ever seen, but he fights the softening expression on his face—he won’t give the damn vampire the satisfaction).

“I’m not going to accept help from a  _ vampire,”  _ he snaps, stepping backwards. He needs to find another way out, another way to escape this damn creature.

The vampire reaches out for him, but his hand stops midway to his shoulder. “What if I said I wanted to offer you my home?”

“Answer’s still no.” There’s too many things that could go wrong, too many hidden agreements with accepting. Too many problems with the beautiful vampire boy.

The vampire sighs loudly, retracting his hand. “Look, I just heard of a necromancer running from town to town and I felt really bad and wanted to offer him my place. I’m assuming it’s you, and I really want to help you,” he explains earnestly. “Please let me.”

And before Kenma can open his mouth to speak, to say  _ “I didn’t ask for your story!”,  _ his legs give way and he blacks out.

—

The first thing Kenma’s aware of upon awakening is the sun. It shines through an open window, past transparent white curtains, beaming onto his face and blankets—wait,  _ blankets? _

He suddenly realizes he’s tucked into a bed, white sheets thrown on top of him, his arms and legs bandaged, with a cool towel on his head. 

“Oh, you’re awake.”

The voice is unfamiliar and Kenma whips his head to the side, where a door had create dopen and a silver haired young man had come through, pushing a cart.

“W-Who are you?” he tries to demand, but it comes out as a croak, a roughened voice. 

“Don’t speak; you need medicine,” the young man chides and he goes off to a side cabinet, retrieving a bottle and spoon. It’s then Kenma notices the delicately sharpened curve of his ears, the pallor of his skin, and his movements, swift and quiet and like a dance across the wooden floor. 

_ Fae,  _ he thinks dimly as the silver haired male pours the liquid onto the spoon, before bringing it over and to his lips.

“Drink,” he says, and his voice has too much conviction for Kenma to disobey.

The liquid is sweet and soothing to his throat and when he tries to speak out, it comes out a little smoother than his earlier scratch.

“Where am I?” he questions.

“Hinata’s house.”

Kenma feels his eyebrows furrow. “I’m sorry, but  _ who?” _

The young man stares at him for a second, before face palming with a curse. “ _ Of course _ he forgot to introduce himself last night. Dammit Hinata.”

“He didn’t get a chance to,” Kenma interrupts (the voice in his mind nags,  _ why are you defending him?) _ . “I passed out before he could.”

“ _ Still _ ,” the other sighs, massaging his forehead. “Go out, we said. Introduce yourself, be nice to the guy, we said. And  _ then  _ invite him to stay with us, we said.” The Fae male turns his piercing eyes on Kenma. “He probably followed you around half the night before he invited you, huh?”

_ Half the night?! _

The Fae chuckles, shaking his head. “Typical Hinata.” And as if the idea had just struck, his eyes light up. “Oh! I haven’t introduced myself either, silly me. I’m Sugawara Koushi, the Fae healer in the house.”

“Kenma.” He hesitates for a moment, before adding, “Kozume Kenma. I’m a necromancer.”

Sugawara smiles at him, soft and warm like the sunlight trickling in. “Nice to meet you, Kenma. Now, I brought lunch for you, so eat up and I’ll take you to meet Hinata.”

—

During his meal, Sugawara sits with him, and Kenma learns several things about Hinata, Sugawara, and the house they lived in.

The house was Hinata’s heritage home, from his family generations before, and he had lived in it alone for a millennia before making friends with the rest of the people in it. Sugawara was the second person Hinata had recruited to the house, and the two of them had begun searching for lost and abandoned magical creatures to care for.

There was an elf living in the house, Sugawara had said, grinning wryly. He was impatient, cool toned, but extremely intelligent, and  _ always  _ tailed by his dryad best friend.

Sugawara had (fondly) spoken of a lone werewolf as well, along with a thaumaturge, a pair of nymphs, a fire spirit, an earth spirit, and a lesser demon.

There had been passerbys too, a cat demon, a pair of winged seraphs, and a narcissistic elf prince with his bodyguard.

And then there was Hinata, the lone vampire and host. 

He was overly friendly, Sugawara had explained. He wasn’t much like the rest of his brethren, who were known to be cold and condescending, and was very much more down to earth (Kenma doesn’t say anything, but he secretly agrees; he’s never run across a vampire so warm as Hinata).

And as he finished his meal, Sugawara had taken his plates and stacked them on the cart with an easygoing grin. “Hinata’s a little bit of a handful, but he’s got a good heart. Anyways, I think it’s time you met him properly, yeah?”

Kenma looks up at Sugawara and nods. “I’d like that.”

—

When they reach the kitchens, there’s a shout of “Suga-senpai!” and then a blur of bright orange hair. Sugawara barely has time to shove the cart away and open his arms for the sunshine burst to jump into his arms.

“Thanks for taking care of him!” The vampire jabbers, words going at a hundred millions per hour. “Is he doing alright? Did he wake up yet?”

Sugawara laughs and playfully ruffles his orange hair. It’s a warm move, as if an older brother to younger sibling and Kenma almost feels jealous of their relationship. “Ask him yourself.”

He moves aside, brushing past Kenma with a whisper of “he wants to get to know you, he really likes you, Kenma” before slipping out of the room entirely. 

“Ah! Kenma! How are you feeling?” Hinata’s eyes had blown wide, glittering with an excited sort of light and Kenma feels a slight  _ ba-dump  _ in his chest. 

“I’m alright. Thanks for taking care of me,” he replies with a tilt of his head. 

Hinata waves his hands in a flurry of motion, reminding Kenma of a hummingbird; abuzz with energy and constant movement. “No worries! I couldn’t have left you out there alone!”

“You could’ve.”

“Could not!”

“Could’ve.”

“I would not have, and that’s final,” Hinata says with a huff and Kenma feels a slight smile curling on the edge of his lips.

“Whatever you say,” he says, with a shake of his head and Hinata beams proudly. 

And then it’s the awkward silence, smiles fading--Kenma doesn’t know what to say and as it seems, neither does Hinata. He looks down at his feet, and from the corner of his eyes, he sees Hinata’s fiddling fingers, twitching with a nervous energy.

_ Say something,  _ he wills himself desperately.  _ He wants to get to know you. _

Kenma inhales softly, before forcing himself to look at the young vampire. There’s no windows in the kitchen, nothing to let the afternoon sun beam through, and yet Hinata radiates light and sun anyways. It’s in his hair, brilliant orange and a reflection of the sky at sunset, and his soft eyes, brown like chocolate and warm like sun rays against skin. He is beautiful, and there’s no doubt about it and knowledge sits in Kenma’s heart, fluttering like Hinata’s hands and warming his neck and cheeks in a flush of red. 

And so, he says, “My name is Kozume Kenma. It’s nice to meet you. Properly.”

He holds his breath when Hinata’s head snaps up, eyes even wider than before and lips parted ever so slightly. The pressure in his chest releases when he responds, jubilant yet shy, “Hinata Shouyou! It’s great to meet you Kenma!”

“Shouyou.” The name is foreign on Kenma’s tongue, but sweet nonetheless and it sounds like a whisper of a melody, a sound that Kenma would find himself humming in the near future. “Shouyou.” 

“Yes?” Hinata’s cheeks are flushed pink and  _ dear gods,  _ he’s absolutely adorable. 

Kenma bites the inside of his lip, hoping to calm his stuttering heart, before he asks, “If I’m going to be staying here, do you mind giving me a tour of the house?” 

The returning grin is absolutely, mind-wrenchingly stunning and Kenma, for the first time in a long time, feels welcomed. 

“Of course! This way!” 

Hinata bounds past him, stopping at the door to offer his hand, and Kenma takes it without hesitation.  _ Home at last. _  
  


**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](https://kiroiimye.tumblr.com/) || [twitter](https://twitter.com/kiroiimye)
> 
> \--
> 
> hi teatimeunicorpia!! i really hope you enjoyed this piece and i'm sorry it took so long to go up >.< 
> 
> to everyone else: i hope y'all enjoyed this little thing!! i've also recently fallen in love with kenhina after rewatching the anime, reading manga, and overall writing this piece, so hmu to talk about them...or hq in general! :D


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